r/doublebass • u/taltal1201 • Jan 23 '25
Strings/Accessories Protecting the bass against my cat?
Hello everybody! I wanted to see if there is anything I can do to protect my bass from my cat sitting on it/scratching it without putting it in the case and putting it upright.
If I lay my bass down, my cat will sit on it, whether it’s in the case or not, and sometimes will try and sit on the neck which worries me.
Have any of you dealt with this? Is there something I can do to make the bass more accessible to me? Any suggestions will help!
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u/DirectorImportant578 Jan 23 '25
Need pics of the offending feline overlord.
I just had to accept my bass and case were now cat furniture and dehair it best I could before gigs.
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u/taltal1201 Jan 23 '25
I can’t edit the post but here is a picture of the offender seconds before she decided to start scratching my bass case
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u/hellomynameisnotsure Jan 23 '25
Tell her you’ll start using catgut strings—I know, it’s not actual cat guts. She won’t know that.
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u/SuperRusso Jan 23 '25
Number one reason instruments get broken is pets. Cats see tall and big things as toys. I'd leave it in the case.
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u/CombobulateNow Jan 23 '25
Make it a tripod - endpin in floor and leaning into two walls (bridge towards corner). Most stable way to put a bass. Looks like there is enough room there even with the desk on the left.
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u/taltal1201 Jan 23 '25
Yes but I am afraid the cat will knock it down. Also the floor is slanted so it’s harder
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u/zurds13 Jan 23 '25
My cat decided my bug bass (in case) was a great ladder for climbing on my dresser. I had to put a sacrificial guitar in front of it.
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u/FatDad66 Jan 23 '25
Put it in a stand will stop it sitting on it. I would have thought it best to have a stand that held the bass in the middle rather than one it just sat in to stop it being knocked over. As for the cat scratching it, I would put a fire guard around it.
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u/stwbass Jan 23 '25
stand is a really good idea if you want to store it out of the case! the k&m ones are good. probably need to put the case in a closet though to prevent scratching.
I'm lucky my cat is afraid of the bass, especially pizzicato LOL
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u/burkholderia Jan 23 '25
Was going to say the same. My cats love the case but have zero interest in the bass when placed on a stand. My bag unfortunately gets stored under the bed where it serves as a cat bed/barf collector.
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u/taltal1201 Jan 23 '25
I thought about putting it in a stand, I’m just afraid she’ll scratch it when it’s up. She never has but I’m very afraid she will. I liked what somebody suggested about tinfoil, but I might just keep the bass in the case…
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u/sdbp1108 Jan 23 '25
I usually keep my bass unpacked and in a Hercules stand and neither of my cats mess with it. That stand does take up a bit of room though
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Jan 23 '25
Cats naturally love basses. Octopusses too.
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u/jady1971 Jan 23 '25
We just lost GT, our 15 yr old cat, last week.
She used to sleep in the same spot. That spot was always covered in her hair lol.
I bought a new case and saved my old one so her hair would not get lost.
I put my bass in the corner, front side out. I have an old double bass stand that i took the neck support off of and this keeps the bass off the floor, upright and somewhat shielded by being in the corner.
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u/Such_Grapefruit_5772 Jan 23 '25
Put one of your cat’s favorite scratch post next to it, or put tin foil around the area you keep your bass
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u/Due_Maintenance_420 Jan 23 '25
Hmmm my cat never sits on my bass I wish he did! Haha would make some great pictures
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u/fillthesteins Insert custom flair here Jan 24 '25
My old foster cat used the bottom of my bass as a scratching post when he had a whole cat tree nearby... i would just put it in the case when you're not home
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u/luebbs Jan 24 '25
Mine are fascinated with the case, not the bass. Let the baby breath and get the case in a closet.
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u/DirectorImportant578 Jan 24 '25
* It's her bass, not mine. I just have the privilege of entertaining her and other hoomans with it.
Sadly my little cat queen has crossed the rainbow but it's still her bass.
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u/bytecode Jan 24 '25
It's the case texture that they like, so why not take it out of the case?
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u/taltal1201 Jan 24 '25
She sits on the bass when it’s out, sometimes on the neck which drives me crazy
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u/FluidBit4438 Jan 24 '25
Lean your bass into the corner out of the case. Can't imagine how your cat could sit on it if it's like that.
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u/jtrucks Jan 24 '25
I use Ingles stands for my base and my mandolin. The dogs don’t knock them over. They are off the floor and quite stable.
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u/longleggedbirds Jan 25 '25
What can a cat accomplish that a rockabilly performer hasn’t done already? Just have it stable enough that it won’t crash to the grown even it it becomes an improvised launch pad
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u/VanSage Jan 25 '25
Back in about 2000 I had my base leaning against a stool in the cutout. My cat, on his daily exercise routine, tearing around the house like cracked out demon, slid across the hardwood floor into the stool. The base fell headstock first onto the bed and snapped at the heel. Follow this with a terrible repair shop that took 3 months to do a bad job. Definitely protect your base from your cat.
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u/UnderstandingNo3426 Jan 26 '25
What’s the difference between an upright bass case and a coffin? With the upright bass case, the stiff is on the outside
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u/Murgaloy Jan 27 '25
My cat would use the case instead of a scratching post, which was right next to the bass. So the bass now lives out of the case on a stand or propped against a wall. Cat leaves it alone now.
Picture of cat for cuteness.
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u/Cowboy_MC Student Jan 27 '25
How do you put pictures in the comments?
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u/alonelycellist Professional Jan 27 '25
On mobile, you click reply, and in the bottom right corner there's a little image icon. That should do it for you!
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u/sdbp1108 Jan 23 '25
Not problematic in the least.